A Tattler's Wail of a Tale
by anonymous789
Summary: It's Lola's first night as an official member of her siblings' secrets club. Stories are told and everyone's on the edge of their seats . . . that is, until Lola has a sudden attack of conscience that brings the meeting to an abrupt halt. When this leads to a breakdown, Lola is left to wonder whether or not she has truly earned the trust of her other ten siblings.
1. A Tattler's Tailspin

**Author's Note**

 _The Loud House_ , including its characters, episodes, and dialogue are the property of Nickelodeon and Chris Savino.

This story takes place during Lola's first night as an official member of her siblings' secrets club, which, in turn, takes place just before the end of "A Tattler's Tale."

—

Chapter 1: A Tattler's Tailspin

"Hey, Lola, you know, we talked it over and decided...you're in! You've earned our trust!"

To six-year-old pageant princess Lola Loud, those were the best words she heard that night. She gasped excitedly upon hearing her 11-year-old brother Lincoln's news.

"Oh, yes!" she exclaimed. She jumped off her bed and tore off her makeshift prison jumpsuit, revealing her signature pink dress underneath. "Yes, yes, yes!" She also did a couple of elbow thrusts to capitalize on her accomplishment.

The rest of her older and younger siblings then walked into the room and gathered around her bed. Once they were all situated, Lynn, the 13-year-old sports fanatic of the 11 siblings, spoke up and got the ball rolling.

"Aww, man. So you guys won't believe how bad I messed up the other day!" The other 10 siblings leaned forward, their mouths agape and curiosities piqued. "I was in the living room, practicing my pile driver with Mom's ironing board . . ."

As Lynn regaled her siblings with her tale, Lola surveyed the scene around her. It was just like she had always imagined it would be. After always being excluded from these meetings because of her reputation as a tattle-tale, she never thought this would actually happen to her.

 _So this is what acceptance feels like_ , she thought to herself. _My siblings finally trust me._ That thought made her swell with pride. If she were a light bulb, she would've been glowing.

"Don't get used to it, princess," interjected a different voice.

Lola suddenly felt her face drop slightly, aware of the voice's presence. She darted a brief look to her left and then to her right.

 _Who's that? Who's there?_ She briefly considered asking her siblings aloud if they, too, had heard something.

"They can't hear me," the mysterious voice replied, as if they had read her mind.

 _Who are you?_

She cast glances at Lynn, her 15-year-old rock star sister Luna, and her eight-year-old Goth sister Lucy.

"Not even close," the voice answered back.

Her eyes then moved counterclockwise to her 14-year-old comic sibling Luan, her four-year-old genius sibling Lisa and her six-year-old twin Lana.

"Cold."

Lola's eyes then shifted to her 17- and 16-year-old sisters Lori and Leni, respectively.

"Getting warmer."

Then she set her gaze on Lily, her 15-month-old baby sister.

"Hotter!"

Then Lola moved her eyes upward, landing on Lincoln.

"You're on fire!"

Lola looked up above her preoccupied brother's head and her eyes finally settled upon her portrait collage. There were at least 10 pictures gracing the wall, each one highlighting a different success in her pageant career. The center portrait was the biggest one of them all. And the girl that was posing in it now had her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed, and a wicked smile on her face.

"You found me!" the girl in the portrait announced.

Lola let out a gasp. At the same time, so did the other siblings. However, their gasping was due in part to something Lynn said in her story.

"Having fun, are we?" Portrait Lola asked her real-life counterpart. The young pageant princess was too stunned to think up a response. "Well, enjoy it while you can."

Lola quickly turned away from the portrait and tried to refocus her attention on Lynn, who had just finished wrapping up her story. As her siblings' applause died down, Luan stood up and took Lynn's place at the center of the circle.

"Well, let me just _tale_ you..."

As Luan began to spin her yarn, Portrait Lola spoke up again. "You know it won't last much longer for you, right?"

Lola tried to maintain her focus on Luan, but her thought process took the bait. _What are you blabbering about?_

"You know what I mean: you can't deny who you _really_ are. You're Lola Loud! Once a tattle-tale, always a tattle-tale."

Lola cast her eyes downward and meekly thought, _That's not true. I've changed! I'm trustworthy now—Lincoln said so himself!_

Portrait Lola was heard to scoff. "You know who he thinks is trustworthy? Look at Leni."

Lola did. " _That's_ who he trusts, not you. The girl who couldn't differentiate her elbows from macaroni on a good day. The girl that thinks two plus two equals a ballet outfit. And he puts more faith and trust in her than he does you."

Wow. Lola hadn't thought of it like that before. Compared to her, Lincoln would probably have put Leni on a pedestal. Uncertainty began to plague Lola's mind.

"Don't believe me? Look at Lily."

Lola desperately wanted not to, but found her eyes moving and eventually settling on Lily.

" _That's_ who Lincoln trusts. They say loose lips sink ships and while Lily may have loose lips, at least she wouldn't blab her other siblings' secrets. Unlike _you_."

Once more, Lola cast her eyes downward. "They've all got a good thing going without you. You really thought you were gonna be an overnight success? Did you really think your siblings were gonna wipe the slate clean just because you wanted to paint yourself as a martyr?"

Now Lola felt her eyes brim with tears. _Yes_ , she thought dejectedly. _I just want them to trust me._

"Yeah, and I want to be the Queen of Sheba. But we can't always get what we want, can we?"

Again, the six-year-old pageant princess redirected her gaze at her framed counterpart. "As I said: once a tattle-tale, always a tattle-tale. You can't change who you are. The sooner you accept that, the better off everyone's going to be."

As Portrait Lola reverted to her original pose, Lola hung her head and heard the sound of her other siblings applauding Luan. Once they fell silent, Lincoln hopped off Lola's bed and traded places with Luan.

"As we all know, we have a new member joining our club for the first time tonight." the white-haired 11-year-old announced. This conjured up another round of applause from Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Lucy, Lana, Lisa and Lily as they all turned to face Lola.

Feeling their eyes on her, Lola wanted nothing more than to fade into the background.

"Lola? Would you like to come up?" invited Lincoln with a wave of his hand.

With great reluctance, Lola raised her head and looked at her other ten siblings. Upon seeing the look on Lola's face, however, her siblings' expressions changed.

"Lola? What's wrong?" Lincoln asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, dude," Luna spoke up. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"Aah! There's a ghost in here?!" Leni shouted. She quickly retracted her feet from the floor and hugged her knees to her chest.

"That was merely a figure of speech, Leni," Lisa lisped, while readjusting her glasses.

"Is everything okay, Lola?" Lana asked her twin sister.

"I...I...I, I think I should go," she stammered, her voice breaking on the last word in that statement. She then hurriedly got up, threw open her bedroom door and ran out, making a sharp right down the hall.

"Lola, wait!" Lincoln called out before running after her. The other nine sisters followed suit soon after, with Lily being carried by Leni.

Lola ran down the hall, hearing the footsteps and voices of her other siblings behind her. This only made her want to run faster.

She eventually made it to the bathroom door at the end of the hall and tore it open. She ran inside, but came to a screeching halt when she suddenly found herself on a stage in front of a big, wooden table. Her eyes widened in terror and a gasp escaped her upon realizing the ten people sitting behind that table. A spotlight suddenly turned on and shone down on her, drenching her in a bright white light. She also took a brief glance behind her and noticed the banner hanging over the door, which had now transformed into a curtain: Miss Trustworthy.

Lola was used to standing in front of crowds of people at her pageants, sometimes too numerous to count. And during the interview portions, she always had an answer for everything and knew just what to say to win the judges over.

But this was different. This wasn't like any other pageant she had participated in before.

No, the judges of this impromptu Little Miss Trustworthy Pageant were her ten siblings. The ten people whose opinions mattered the most to her. She watched as they narrowed their eyes, judging her performance as she stood on the stage. Lola felt like she was now in the interview portion of the program.

"What makes you a likely candidate to join our secret club, Lola?" Lincoln solemnly asked her.

"Uh . . ." Lola began.

"Can you name any instance where you have shown yourself to be considered trustworthy?" interjected a solemn Lori.

"Well, um, there was that time when . . ."

"For my new poem, I need a word that rhymes with trust," Lucy monotonically stated. "As in, can I trust you to think of one for me?"

"Uh, how about . . ."

"As you know, a strict interpretation of Boyle's Law suggests that the volume of gas at a constant temperature is inversely proportional to its pressure," lisped Lisa in a stoic tone. "Moreover, Charles' Law clearly states that the volume of a gas is proportional to its absolute temperature." She took a second to readjust her glasses. "With this in mind, why should we trust you?"

"I don't, I don't see what this has to do with the dog, but . . ."

"Poo, poo?" Lily solemnly followed up.

Beads of sweat started to form on Lola's forehead. "Um, could you repeat the question?"

Lola felt her heart and pulse start to race. Suddenly, the table curved inward, surrounding her on all sides. Now Lola felt like her head was spinning—or was it the table spinning?

For the first time, she didn't have an answer. There was nothing she could say that would justify them including her as a member of their secret club.

Paraphrasing Lincoln's reminder in her head, she wasn't considered to be among "those of us who can trust each other." And that realization weighed heavily on Lola's heart. Then she heard her sisters begin to chant:

 _Tattle-tale, tattle-tale,_

 _Little Lola Loudmouth_

 _Tattle-tale, tattle-tale,_

 _Go away and get out!_

Lola squeezed her eyes shut and brought her hands to her ears in an attempt to block them out.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" she desperately pleaded. But the taunting only got louder and faster. Lola suddenly felt her feet move of their own accord, aimlessly wandering forward and backward around the circle she was entrapped in. This momentum continued until Lola accidentally stepped backward on her dress and lost her balance, hitting her back on something solid.

Upon impact, the taunting mimicry of her sisters' voices abruptly stopped. Shuddering in relief, she slid down the wall and sat on the floor. Then she turned her head upward and opened her eyes. As she realized that she was back in the bathroom looking at the ceiling, she heard Lincoln's voice in her head.

 _Hey, Lola, you know, we talked it over and decided...you're in! You've earned our trust!_

But to Lola at that moment, it felt like the biggest lie ever known to be true. And that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

She closed her eyes again and the tears finally fell. She hung her head and began to cry.

Her sisters and brother were taken aback by this unfolding development; this was unlike anything they'd ever seen from Lola. They exchanged sad glances with each other, feeling a sense of déjà vu before turning back to their crying sister.

Lincoln then took it upon himself to slowly approach Lola, kneel down next to her, and gently place his hand on her shoulder. Upon contact, Lola looked to the source of the touch and came face to face with her brother. The concerned look on his face was enough to make Lola's bottom lip quiver.

"Oh, Linky, I'm sorry," she sputtered out. "I'm so sorry." Then she reached out to Lincoln and buried her face in his chest, holding on to him tightly before dissolving into another round of sobs. Lincoln wrapped his arms around Lola, placing one hand on her back and using the other to stroke her hair. He looked back to his sisters and shared another sympathetic look with them.

"It's okay, Lola," Lincoln replied soothingly to her. "It's gonna be okay." Moved by this scene, the other nine sisters walked over and knelt down next to Lola.

"We're all here for you, Lola," assured Lincoln. "We love you."

Lola heard her sisters murmuring in agreement with Lincoln.

This only made her cry harder.

—

Now, I'm sure some of you are thinking that I wrote Lola out of character. Yes, she may be bratty and conceited, but she also has feelings. So I wanted to take that into consideration while writing this.

On a brief personal note, I've been where Lola's been. I know what it's like and how it feels not to be trusted by your loved ones: it's one of the worst feelings in the world. That's why I value trust more than ever now; I never want to be in that position again.

On a side note, Lisa's long-winded science question during Lola's hallucination was taken and paraphrased from an episode of the Nickelodeon game show _Get the Picture_.

The next chapter will be up very soon, detailing the aftermath.

For those of you who've made it this far, thank you for your support, whoever you are.

If you liked the chapter I've outlined, feel free to leave a review if so inclined.

Until then, thanks again for reading!


	2. Picture Imperfect

**Author's Note**

Hello, everyone! Welcome back!

First off, I'd like to apologize for the late update. I had the outline of this chapter planned out in advance, but life got in the way. And those responsibilities, unfortunately, had to come first. Thankfully though, I was able to get a moment to breathe. But I found out while writing this chapter that it kept taking on a life of its own. Interestingly, it helped to better improve my story.

I am methodical and particular by nature and while I so desperately wanted to hurriedly write and upload this chapter, I just didn't have the heart to do that to you guys.

Great things take time. And you, my fellow readers, deserve a great story. So I intend to deliver on that promise.

Thank you for understanding! I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Enjoy!

 _The Loud House_ , including its characters, episodes, and dialogue are the property of Nickelodeon and Chris Savino.

—

Chapter 2: Picture Imperfect

It took some time before Lola was finally able to stop crying and allowed her siblings to escort her back to her room.

Once they re-entered Lola and Lana's room, the siblings once more situated themselves around Lola's bed. The only difference this time was that Lola took to sitting on the edge of her bed next to Lincoln. Her eyes were red and puffy and focused downward at her feet dangling off the bed. She felt Lincoln wrap an arm around her as he addressed his other sisters.

"In light of recent circumstances," the white-haired 11-year-old began. "It appears that there are some grievances that need to be aired before we can continue our meeting."

Lola fought to suppress the urge to cringe upon hearing the word _our_. "Our" implied inclusion by association and a sense of belonging—both of which Lola wasn't feeling at the moment.

"What's going on, Lola? What's the matter?" Lincoln asked his sister.

Lola raised her head and briefly glanced at her other siblings, noticing the concerned looks on their faces. Déjà vu all over again.

"It's only us, Lola," Lana tried to reassure her twin. "You can trust us."

It was then that Portrait Lola made herself known to Lola once again. "But who's gonna trust you, Lola? Certainly not them."

This made Lola groan. "That's easy for you to say, Lana," Lola answered back. Then she quietly scoffed and muttered under her breath, " _You're_ the trustworthy twin."

"What was that?" Lana asked.

"A stifled sneeze," Lola quickly covered up.

"Gesundheit," Leni replied.

"This coming from someone that can't even spell 'Gesundheit'," Lola sarcastically said. Her siblings were surprised and taken aback by Lola's sudden change in attitude.

"I can, too!" Leni said defensively. "G-U-H-Z-U-N-T-I-G-H-T. So there!" Then she crossed her arms in a victorious manner. The other siblings, except Lola, did a collective face-palm.

"She may not be able to spell 'Gesundheit,' but I'm sure she can spell 'Trust.' " Portrait Lola stated. "Which is more than I can say for a certain someone who isn't worthy of it."

"Oh, who asked you?" Lola snidely commented. The siblings took this as a response to Leni; Lola, however, had been responding to her framed counterpart.

"If I may interject, elder sister," Lisa was heard to speak up. "But I'm afraid it will be impossible for us to assist you with your problem if you won't let us help you solve it. In the words of Albert Einstein, 'We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.' "

"And girl, did you create one heck of a mess," Portrait Lola interjected.

"Leave me alone!" She clenched her fists and slammed them against her legs. This unexpected outburst scared Lincoln into retracting his arm from Lola, as if she had suddenly turned red-hot.

As much as Lola tried to ignore her framed counterpart, she found it harder and harder to control the anger building up inside her.

"Dude, Lola, why are you acting like this?" questioned Luna. "We just want to help you."

"Just like they wanted to _help_ _you_ stay out of their club, right, princess?" Again, Portrait Lola with her sarcasm.

"Now, Lola . . ." Lincoln tried to intervene.

"Ugh! Stop acting like you guys actually care!" came another outburst from Lola. "I know you don't!"

In response to the outburst, Lori crossed her arms and furrowed her brows. "Well, believe it or not, Lola, but we actually _do_ care. What we _don't_ care for right now is your attitude."

"You guys . . ." Lincoln once again pleaded.

But his pleas went unheard as Lynn put in her two cents. "You know, you're not doing yourself any favors by pushing us away, Lola."

"Well, you guys certainly know all about that, don't you?" Silence filled the room and the other siblings exchanged glances with each other.

"Poo, poo, poo?" Lily eventually asked, breaking the silence.

"Just forget it," Lola retorted in a defeated tone. "I don't expect you guys to understand." She then jumped off her bed and walked to the door. "This was all a big mistake."

"Lola, please," pleaded her brother.

"You know what, Lincoln? Let her go," Lori insisted. "If she wants to act like that, then she can just leave."

"Just like all your friends at school left you because you couldn't keep your mouth shut, right?" Portrait Lola contributed.

Hearing that comment made Lola stop dead in her tracks.

"Or what about the competitors in all your pageants? You think they haven't got their own little network of trust? They've got their own big club . . . and you ain't in it!"

Her grip on the doorknob tightened and her eyes widened.

"Did you know Albert Einstein also said, 'Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters'? Well, you certainly are careless when it comes to secrets."

As Portrait Lola continued to run her mouth, Lola felt her grip on the doorknob tighten even more. Any tighter and she was gonna either warp the metal or break it clean off the door.

"Or maybe you've heard this one: 'Apparently, it's easier to trust a complete stranger than to trust an untrustworthy sibling!' "

Lola felt herself heating up; her face began to turn a dark shade of red.

"You know what I don't get, Lola? Why it's so hard knowing who to trust with your personal life. That's why some people are very close to their families. Betcha wish you could say the same thing, huh?"

She ground her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut while tears streamed down her face. She could feel herself beginning to tremble.

As Lola's framed counterpart continued to mock her, her other siblings took note of her sudden unexplained trance. They tried calling her name to try and bring her back to reality. But she was deaf to them all.

"It's just a shame that they'll never really trust you. Because, as the saying goes, when you have trust, it's priceless."

 _Stop it!_

"But when you lose it. . ."

 _Knock it off!_

" . . . It is useless. And you, Lola Loud, little Miss Tattle-Tale . . . "

 _I'm warning you . . . !_

"YOU . . . ARE . . . USELESS!"

Those three words finally pushed Lola Loud over the edge.

She threw her head back and screamed bloody murder.

After her screaming ceased, Lola turned around and faced her silent, shocked siblings. Fear was now etched in their facial expressions and body language; none of them saw this coming. What they saw instead looked anything unlike Lola. Her fists were tightly clenched; steam was shooting out of her nose and ears; her teeth had turned into razor-sharp fangs; and the pupils of her tear-stained eyes were nothing but pure white-hot rage.

Without even giving her 10 siblings a chance to speak, she charged forward. The ones who found themselves in Lola's line of sight quickly moved aside. Lincoln bolted from the bed as Lola scrambled onto it and rushed toward the wall.

With all the superhuman strength she could muster, she grabbed the base of Portrait Lola's frame and tore it off the wall. She then turned to her left, raised the portrait over her head and then, accompanied with an inhuman "YAAHH!", chucked the portrait downward. It was thrown with such force that the portrait bounced off the floor and ricocheted off Lana's night stand. The force of the impact then caused the portrait to briefly spin around a couple times like an unwieldy coin before landing face-up next to Lana's bed.

With that done, Lola jumped off her bed and marched toward the portrait. Once she approached it, she wasted no time in jumping up and down repeatedly on her framed counterpart's face.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" she screamed between each jump. Portrait Lola, however, gave no reaction and remained frozen in her pose.

Her siblings watched Lola's rampage with mouths agape and wide eyes. None of them dared to speak or make any sudden movements for fear that Lola might turn on them without warning.

Eventually, Lola ceased her stomping and shouting, and set her sights on a basket of stuffed animals resting at the foot of her bed. She marched over to the basket, picked it up and brought it over to the portrait. After setting it down, she took out a teddy bear and hurled it down at Portrait Lola, hitting her square in the face.

Portrait Lola, again, did not react.

Seeing this only fueled Lola's anger and she repeated the process over and over until the basket was empty.

Once she realized this, she then set her sights on her nicely assembled tea party table. Like she did with the stuffed animal basket, Lola marched over to the table and dragged it over to the portrait. Once it was in position, she snatched a plastic teacup from the table and chucked it at Portrait Lola. Then she did the same thing with a plastic saucer.

Back and forth, Lola went, alternating between each piece of tableware.

Still, no reaction.

Soon enough, her throwing became more sluggish. It was starting to become an effort for Lola to raise her arms and throw something down at her framed counterpart. The anger she was feeling was now turning into sorrow. Her face was changing color again, this time from red back to white. The tears started flowing again and she let escape a few shuddering gasps.

Noticing this transition, Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Lincoln, Lucy, Lana, Lisa, and Lily all stood up and slowly began to approach Lola. They stopped a few feet away from her, still being careful to keep their distance.

After throwing the last piece of tableware down at the portrait, Lola slowly raised her hand to her neck and yanked off her pearl necklace with a swift, hard tug. She then brought it up over her head and sluggishly threw it down at Portrait Lola. Upon impact, the pearls scattered like marbles.

Lola then repeated the process by taking her tiara off her head. But before she could follow through, her arm froze in mid-air and began to slightly shake. She suddenly felt weak in her knees and then her whole body started trembling again. Her arm soon dropped down to her side and she unclenched her fist. The tiara fell helplessly to the floor. She finally fell to her knees and more tears cascaded down her face.

"I just wanted them to trust me," Lola sadly whispered.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, sunshine," Portrait Lola stated sarcastically. "But . . ."

"This club is only for those of us who can trust each other," finished the solemn voice of her brother. "And you don't belong here, Lola."

"You don't belong here, Lola," echoed Lori.

"You don't belong here, Lola," repeated Leni.

"You don't belong here, Lola," parroted Luna.

One by one, Lola watched as her framed counterpart replicated the voices of the rest of her sisters, from oldest to youngest, each one echoing those five awful words.

It was too much for the young pageant princess to handle.

She despondently closed her eyes, hung her head, and buried her face in her hands.

From behind her, the other 10 siblings watched Lola trembling and crying before them. Déjà vu all over again.

This was hard for them all to watch, to see Lola spiraling down like this. They knew from her earlier breakdown that she was hurting, but this breakdown made them understand that they hadn't realized _how much_ Lola was truly hurting.

Throwing caution to the wind, Lana walked over to her muffled sobbing twin and gently hugged her from behind, leaning her own head against Lola's back. Taking after Lana, Lily then followed suit, crawling over to her distressed older sister. She then sat down next to Lola and hugged her left leg. Lincoln came next: he walked over to Lola's right, kneeled down and placed his hand on her shoulder in his own show of support.

As the rest of the siblings came forward, forming a supportive half-circle around Lola, they heard the young pageant princess muttering dejectedly through her tears, _"I don't belong here . . . I don't belong here . . . I don't belong here . . ."_

However, one of the sisters found herself unable to take her eyes off Lola's framed counterpart.

—

Now it's getting serious . . . and mysterious. Even _I'm_ wondering what's gonna happen next!

In my attempt to write this as an episode-within-an-episode, some things may have been rushed or lost in translation. If this has occurred while you have read this, I apologize. I will make sure to improve next time.

On a side note, in addition to Albert Einstein, there were a few other people whose quotes I used and slightly paraphrased during Portrait Lola's mocking toward the end of this chapter.

These include George Carlin ( _"It's a big club . . . and you ain't in it!"_ ), William Blake ( _"It's easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend."_ ), and Lady Gaga ( _"It's hard knowing who to trust with your personal life . . . So I am very close to my family."_ )

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Reviews are always appreciated!

Hope to see you again soon!


	3. The Bittersweet Spot

**Author's Note**

Hello again, my fellow readers!

Welcome to another edition of "A Tattler's Wail of a Tale". This may feel like a filler chapter since it isn't as long as the previous two were. But I assure you, there will definitely be some drama up ahead.

So without further ado, let's begin!

 _The Loud House_ , including its characters, episodes, and dialogue are the property of Nickelodeon and Chris Savino.

—

Chapter 3: The Bittersweet Spot

In the middle of Lola's muffled sobbing, the other siblings were caught off-guard by a sudden knock at the door.

"Kids, are you alright?" asked Mom. "We just heard someone screaming."

"What's going on in there?" Dad followed up.

Nine of the 10 sisters exchanged worried glances with each other, unsure how to explain what was going on. However, the sound of snapping fingers redirected their attention toward Lincoln.

"I've got it," he whispered. "I'll be right back."

Lola was then heard to mutter dejectedly, "Go ahead. Tell them it was me. I deserve it."

Lincoln froze in his tracks, caught off-guard by the comment. A look of guilt briefly crossed his face before he resumed his walk to the bedroom door. "Uh, sorry about that, Mom and Dad. We were, um, doing a sibling sing-along and Luna got a little carried away with her solo."

"Yeah, that's right!" Luan jumped in. "She not exactly _Loud_ for nothing." As she followed her pun up with a laugh, the rest of the siblings except Lola let out a unison groan. "Get it?"

Their father, however, could be heard laughing at his daughter's joke. "What? That was funny!" he told his wife.

"Just try and keep it down, okay?" Mom told her children. "We don't want Mr. Grouse complaining again like last time."

As the sounds of retreating footfalls were heard, Lincoln and the girls breathed a sigh of relief and turned their attention back to Lola. To their astonishment, they found she was gone.

"Lola?" Lana asked.

"Wait, there she is," Leni said, pointing down at the floor.

"Leni, that's a picture of Lola," Lucy answered monotonically.

"Poo, poo," Lily spoke up and pointed to her right. The older siblings followed the trajectory of Lily's index finger and saw she was pointing at Lola's bed.

And there Lola was, lying on her right side and facing the wall.

Lincoln tried to take a step toward the bed, but was stopped by a tug at his arm. He looked down and saw Lisa grasping his wrist. She shook her head at Lincoln.

"Allow me, Lincoln." She readjusted her glasses and turned to her other sisters. "Lori, if I may ask you and the rest of our sibling units who are not Lola to relocate to your room. I shall join you all momentarily."

"Lisa, what are you planning? You know what Mom and Dad said about using us as guinea pigs for your experiments," Lori firmly reminded her.

"Relax, eldest sibling," the four-eyed four-year-old genius replied. "I simply have a theory about what may be bothering Lola, and will need to conduct further research in order to prove it." Ignoring the wary looks a few of her siblings gave her, Lisa took out a notepad and pencil.

"Now if you'll excuse me . . ." Lisa then walked over to Lola's pageant portrait and began writing in her notepad.

Still unsure of Lisa's intentions for Lola, Lori nonetheless took this as her cue and silently instructed her other nine siblings to leave the room with her.

But not before they each took one last concerned glance at their distressed sister.

—

A somber mood infected the atmosphere of Lori and Leni's room as the nine remaining Loud siblings waited for Lisa to return. Each one of them was currently occupied with some sort of activity to try and pass the time.

Lori sat on her bed, reading one of her _Sixteen_ magazines. Normally, she would've been texting on her phone but, shockingly, she had lost the desire to do so.

Lucy sat on the edge of Lori's bed with her face buried in her book of poetry. Before turning each page, she would let out a verbal sigh.

Leni stood in front of her dresser, looking in the mirror and brushing her hair. Usually, she had her routine of brushing it 50 times. And usually, she would lose count during a couple of those attempts. This night was no different.

Luna sat cross-legged in the gap between her two older sisters' beds, leaning against their nightstand and aimlessly twiddling her thumbs. It looked like she was attempting an impromptu, but haphazard drum solo.

Lily sat on Luna's lap, sucking her pacifier. Noticing the sad look on her older sister's face, she took the binky out of her mouth and offered it to Luna.

"No thank you, Lily," the rock star answered. Lily then put the pacifier back in her mouth.

Lying on Leni's bed, Lynn repeatedly threw a pillow up in the air, as if it were a football. Usual routine, but there wasn't the usual drive and energy she normally put forth into the effort. Instead, it was slow and delayed.

Lana, lying at the foot of Leni's bed on her stomach, was morosely picking her nose.

Lincoln was pacing back and forth by the bedroom door, his hands held behind his back and concern etched in his face.

Luan was leaning against the closet door and filing her nails. Noticing the dismal tone of the room, she spoke up. "Hey, I heard a funny joke today."

Her attempt at levity, however, only garnered an irritated groan from Lana. "Ugh! Luan! For five minutes, can you knock off the knock-knock jokes? Nobody's interested right now!"

All eyes turned to Lana and Lincoln stopped his pacing.

"Lana . . ." Lincoln began.

"No, Lincoln!" she shouted, turning to face her brother. "Lola's in the middle of another breakdown and she just wants to make a joke out of the whole thing!" She used the hand she had been picking her nose with to point at Luan.

The comedienne furrowed her brows at having been called out. "Hey, I'm just as concerned about Lola as you! She's _my_ sister, too, you know!"

"Yeah? Well, she's _my_ twin! Therefore, I win! What have _you_ got, other than your stale comedy routines?"

"Burn," Lucy simply replied.

"Dudes . . ." Luna tried to interject. Hearing the change of tone in her older sister's voice, Lily crawled off Luna's lap.

"I betcha there's more comedy up my nose than in all your jokes combined!"

This was starting to get personal, and the rest of the siblings knew it. Now it was Lynn's turn to intercede. "Okay, time out. Time out." She put the pillow aside and made the accompanying gesture with her hands. Unfortunately, neither sister acknowledged her.

"Don't make me laugh, Lana. Actually, I take that back— _do_ make me laugh. So the last booger you pulled out your nose looked like one of Aunt Ruth's cats. So what? It's _snot_ that impressive." She accompanied that zinger with a derisive laugh.

Lana rolled her eyes and then stood up to face Luan. "Okay. You think you're the only one that's got jokes? Well, I got one for you. What do you and Lola's breakdowns have in common?"

Seven sets of eyes turned to Luan.

"Enlighten me," challenged the comedienne.

Those same seven sets of eyes returned to Lana.

"They're both not funny!"

Lori, Leni, Luna, Lynn, Lincoln, Lucy, and Lily visibly winced upon hearing Lana's comeback.

Luan's right eye began to twitch involuntarily and her grip on the nail file tightened. She couldn't believe what she heard. Her younger sister had just insulted the very essence of her being and dealt a blow to her ego. She then raised the fist holding the nail file above her head and brought it down onto the sewing machine table. The impact resounded like a judge's gavel. Luan released her hold on the nail file and cracked her knuckles.

"How about I make you eat that hat of yours, you little brat? That'll be funny!" She began to march toward Lana, who, in return, got on the defensive.

This caused Lori and Leni to spring into action and they each grabbed an arm, holding Luan back. Meanwhile, Luna and Lynn mirrored their older sisters and held back Lana, preventing her from leaping off the bed. Finally, Lincoln quickly inserted himself in the gap separating Luan and Lana. He held up a raised hand to each sister.

"Okay, okay. Let's everyone just calm down and take a deep breath," Lincoln mediated. "We can work this out."

But Luan was having none of that. "No, let me at her, Lincoln! I'm gonna give her a punchline she'll never forget!"

This didn't intimidate Lana for a second. "And what are you gonna do? Break my funny bone?" She then followed this up by mocking Luan's signature laugh. "Get it?"

Luan ground her braced teeth and began to growl and shake angrily. Lincoln then turned to face Lana. "Now, Lana . . ."

"Don't look now, Leni, but there's a spider on your head," Luan stated abruptly.

"Spider?! Aaah!" Leni screamed. She then let go off Luan's arm and began manically rubbing her hands through her hair. "Get it off! Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!"

With Leni preoccupied by the non-existent spider, Luan yanked her other arm out of Lori's grasp and then shoved Lincoln aside before lunging at Lana.

Once contact was made, a fight cloud formed between Luan and Lana. The cloud then quickly made its way around the room and engulfed the rest of the siblings.

—

Looks like Lola's breakdowns have inadvertently caused tensions to rise amongst some of her siblings.

Hopefully, Lisa comes back soon to shed some light on what's eating Lola.

I hope you all have enjoyed this latest installment and will come back for more!

Thanks again for reading. Reviews are always welcome!

See you next time!


	4. Discover Girls

**Author's Note**

Hello and welcome to the penultimate chapter of "A Tattler's Wail of a Tale"!

I apologize for my going off the radar for some time, but this chapter definitely did a number on me. Even with my outline and notes, this section went off in so many directions. Pretty soon, there came a point where the whole chapter started to spiderweb.

And not only that, it turned out that some of the material I ended up writing was meant to be for Chapter 5! It happened more than once during this process, so you can imagine my frustration.

But cooler heads prevailed and after some time and reflection, I was finally able to get back on track.

And now, I present to you the fruits of my labor. It may not be the best thing I've ever written for this story, but I'm still very proud of the work I put forth into this chapter.

 _The Loud House_ , including its characters, episodes, and dialogue are the property of Nickelodeon and Chris Savino.

—

Chapter 4: Discover Girls

Had the brawl between Luan and Lana gone on any further, the fight cloud that had engulfed them and their other siblings might have caused a ripple effect and would have laid Lori and Leni's room to waste. Thankfully, it never got to that point, as a sharp whistle caused the fight cloud to suddenly dissipate. Once the dust cleared, the nine Loud siblings—each one contorted in a different position—turned their attention to the source of the whistle.

"Elder and younger siblings alike, I have acquired the necessary results of my research," Lisa announced.

"You mean, you're already done?" Lincoln asked.

"Affirmative. It should please you to know that the research I conducted on Lola was merely observational."

"How is she holding up, Lisa?" Lana then asked worriedly.

"Apart from the occasional sniffle, she still has not said a word nor has she moved from her spot on the bed," Lisa resumed. "Now, if you would be so kind as to gather around, please."

The rest of the siblings in attendance untangled themselves and formed two separate groups. On Lori's bed sat Leni, Luna, Luan, and Lucy; on Leni's bed sat Lori, Lynn, and Lana.

In the space between both beds sat Lincoln, with Lily seated next to him. Lincoln took notice of the dirty glares Luan and Lana gave each other.

Once everyone was situated, Lisa pulled out her yellow notepad. With another slight readjustment of her glasses, the four-year-old poindexter looked down at her notes and began speaking.

"Now, I could give you all a lecture fraught with scientific theories and laden with concepts and definitions that most of you have probably never heard of. But for the sake of time, I am just going to be blunt and cut to the chase."

The other nine siblings then leaned forward, curious as to what Lisa would divulge.

"It is my belief that Lola is hearing voices."

Nine flabbergasted looks crossed nine Loud faces.

"Wait, what?" Lincoln spoke up, after the collective shock wore off.

"Hold on," Lori said, once she found her voice. "You literally had all this time to devote to your research, and _that's_ what you came up with?"

"If I had more time to devote to deciphering Lola's current state of mind, I would have done a lot more than just observation," defended the young scientist.

"But I would've expected that kind of response from Lucy, not from you, dude," Luna inputted.

"Sigh. So true," deadpanned the young Goth.

"Why would you think that, Lisa?" queried Lincoln.

Once again, Lisa adjusted her glasses.

"How do you explain Lola pacing aimlessly around the bathroom earlier, all the while covering her ears and shouting, and I quote: _'Make it stop! Make it stop!'_?"

No answer amongst the siblings.

"How about her sudden, inexplicable trance not too long ago?"

Still, no answer.

"Or should I bring up that piercing, ear-shattering scream she emitted?"

"Well, that could've been anything," Lori tried to justify.

"Such as, eldest sibling unit?"

Lori opened her mouth again to try and produce a counter argument, but to no avail. She closed her mouth in defeat.

"Just as I thought," Lisa said. "Excuse me for a minute." She turned to her right and left the room. The remaining siblings exchanged unsure glances with each other, wondering where Lisa was going—both literally and figuratively.

A few seconds later, she re-entered the room. But this time, the nine Loud siblings noticed Lisa carrying something over her head. Only when the four-year-old prodigy propped the item up against Lori and Leni's dresser did they realize what it was.

"You brought Lola to the meeting?" Leni asked.

"Leni, that's not Lola," Lucy responded. "That's still her pageant portrait."

"What does Lola's picture have to do with all of this?" Lori asked skeptically.

"Because, eldest sister, I believe it adds credence to my theory. Now, I must ask: have any of you heard of the Mirror Technique?"

"Ooh, I think I did that earlier," Leni exclaimed excitedly. "I was trying to brush my hair exactly 50 times." Then her expression changed to a sad one. "But I kept losing count."

Lisa rolled her eyes in response to her dimwitted older sister. "For those of you who also may not know, the Mirror Technique is a confidence-building exercise involving the subconscious mind. For example—Luna, I'm sure I can say with 100% certainty that you didn't become an expert guitarist overnight."

"That's right," the 15-year-old rock star replied.

"Am I also correct in assuming that you have had some instances of stage fright in the past?"

"Of course; who hasn't?"

"And tell me, how did you work through your stage fright?"

"Well, I usually holed myself up in the garage and when I practiced, I pretended my audience was wearing nothing but their underwear."

"A common go-to. Did you ever find yourself practicing in front of a mirror during any of your rehearsals?"

"A few times before, sure."

"And did you ever keep telling yourself you could do it, like the Little Engine That Could?"

Lily and Leni briefly laughed and clapped their hands; that was one of their favorite stories.

"Come to think it, yes, I did."

"Luan, I'm sure if none of us were around for you to try your material on, you've practiced in front of a mirror, as well?"

"It certainly gave me time to _reflect_ on how I could better myself as a comedian," Luan noted before giving off a brief chuckle. While Lori, Leni, Luna, Lincoln, Lucy, and Lily groaned at the pun, Lana tensed up and shot daggers at Luan. Sensing her younger sister's discomfort, Lynn was quick to place her hands on Lana's shoulders. So instead of trying to instigate Round 2, Lana growled at Luan, crossed her arms and rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Lucy, your poetry slams?"

"Sigh. The mirror was a faithful companion during those times where stage fright weighed heavily on the black void that is my soul," the young Goth admitted stoically.

"So while you have had different experiences, it all comes to one key component: you built confidence in your abilities through the use of the mirror. This brings me back to the buildup of my belief that Lola is going through a pseudo-version of the Mirror Technique. For the sake of convenience, I call it the Reverse Mirror Technique."

"Reverse Mirror Technique?" Lincoln parroted.

"That's right, elder brother."

"I mean, I've heard of the Mirror Technique, but I don't ever recall there being a different version of it."

"That's because, technically, there's no such thing as the Reverse Mirror Technique, Lincoln. At least, no such thing that the field of science has officially recognized."

"So then, you're literally basing what you think is wrong with Lola on _nothing_?"

"Just bear with me for a minute, Lori; I have a method to this madness. This is merely a buildup to my results. I'm sure you all remember the stuff Lola said to us when we tried to get her to open up."

"Yeah, she like totes said some mean things to us," Leni exclaimed. "And she made me spell!"

"Yes, she did say some mean things, but I'm almost positive a good majority of her anger toward us was misguided."

"What do you mean?" asked Lana.

"During the course of my recollecting our meeting, I felt that some of her responses were a bit off. For example, the snide remark she made to us after Leni's impromptu spelling bee."

"You mean, _'Oh, who asked you?'_ " quoted Lucy.

"Precisely. I couldn't put my finger on what would trigger such an anomalous response like that."

"A-nom, a-nom . . . uh . . . "

"Jarring, Leni, like your pronunciation. And then, when I posed my suggestion for her to open up, we only got another inconsistent response—her sudden outburst of wanting to be left alone."

"Maybe she was just getting overwhelmed by our interrogation," suggested Lynn.

"At first, I thought that might have been the case . . . but then Lola tried to leave the room. And Lori, I believe you felt it somehow necessary to put your two cents in—do you remember what you said?"

All eyes turned to the eldest Loud sibling. In her spot on Leni's bed, Lori shifted uncomfortably and turned away from the judgmental gazes of her younger siblings.

"Do the words, _'If she wants to act like that, then she can just leave,'_ ring any bells?"

"Great job, Lori!" Lana suddenly interjected, her voice laced with anger and sarcasm. "Why couldn't you just keep your big mouth shut?"

"Sister, keep your voice down," Lisa interceded.

"I'm sorry, alright?! It was the heat of the moment!" defended Lori. "I didn't mean to say that. I'm just as upset about this as you are, Lana. If not more so."

"Again, I'll kindly ask you to lower your voices. I'm sure Lori was just frustrated by the lack of progress we were making, Lana. I think it's safe to say we all were."

There was collective nodding and agreement from the Loud audience.

"But right now, assigning blame is not going to help us or Lola out. Now, as I was trying to say, if you'll just turn your attention to Lola's picture . . . "

Everyone, including Lisa, turned to look at the pageant portrait.

A moment of silence followed.

Seconds turned to minutes.

Finally, Lynn broke the silence: "Uh, why are we all just looking at the picture?"

"Because, Lynn, and my fellow sibling units," Lisa followed up. " _This_ is the source of the voice that Lola has been hearing."

Unfazed by the astounded and confused looks on her siblings' faces, Lisa continued on.

"As I mentioned before, the Mirror Technique is supposed to help build confidence in one's self. In my scenario, the portrait is acting as a mirror to Lola. But in Lola's mind—if my calculations are correct—this 'reflection' is destroying her confidence instead and causing Lola to doubt herself."

"Doubt herself about what?" inquired Lincoln.

"After going over the data, I have come to the conclusion that Lola is still under the impression that we do not trust her."

Hearing this brought about a collective gasp from the other siblings.

"Why would she think that?" asked Lincoln worriedly, his arms outstretched.

"I take it you all noticed that during Lola's second breakdown, she took out most of her anger on said portrait?"

"Yeah, she was jumping all over it and throwing her tea party tableware and stuffed animals at it."

"That's right, dear brother. In the course of trying to apply my hypothesis to her behavior, I got the impression that she was trying to figuratively and/or literally 'shatter' the image her portrait was trying to project on her." Lisa made sure to use air quotes when describing Lola jumping up and down on her pageant picture earlier.

"What image?"

"The image that she is still considered untrustworthy in the eyes of her other siblings."

"But that can't be; I remember telling Lola that she earned our trust."

"Then how do you explain her lamenting, _'I just wanted them to trust me,'_ Lincoln? Or what about her melancholic repetition of _'I don't belong here, I don't belong here,'_ et cetera, et cetera?"

Just like Lori earlier, a logical explanation failed to formulate in Lincoln's mind.

"Poo, poo, poo?"

"Unfortunately, Lily, that sort of explanation calls for the operation of Lola's mind. And sadly, I cannot read her mind. Not yet, anyway. But if we wanted to find out the answer to that question, we'd have to ask her."

"But what about your Reverse Mirror Technique hypothesis?" Lori asked.

"I'm afraid that's all it is: a hypothesis. And I reiterate—no such concept exists in the field of science. This is only speculation. For all I know, it could be something else entirely."

"Then what good will your speculation be if turns out to be something else?"

"We shall worry about that when we get there. But if we are to help Lola through her predicament, we must come together to do so."

She then shot knowing glances at two of her sisters in particular.

"Lana, Luan, it just so happens that I overheard the two of you fighting earlier."

"Well, she started it!" the lone twin exclaimed in her defense.

Luan, in response, furrowed her eyebrows at Lana. "Speak for yourself! I didn't even start the joke before you jumped down my throat!"

" _However!_ Regardless of who set this argument in motion, you _both_ are at fault."

"What?!" both older and younger sister shouted in unison.

"Lana, while I agree that Luan can go a little overboard with her brand of comedy sometimes, they act as a coping mechanism for her. And like you, she, too, is feeling the brunt of Lola's anguish. So who are we to deprive her of the ability to express how she's feeling? It would be like Luan trying to forbid you to play in the mud or with one of Charles' innumerable chew toys. And that wouldn't be fair, would it?"

Lana sighed dejectedly. "I suppose not."

"And Luan, I'm sure you had good intentions with your joke-telling. But by the same token, you have to understand that Lola is Lana's twin. They have a special bond that only twins can share. And in Lana's mind, you making light of Lola's situation came off as insensitive. So, in the future, it might be in your best interest to think before you say and how it may potentially affect those around you. Does that seem reasonable?"

Luan looked down sadly. "You're right; I guess I should've looked at it from that perspective."

"Now, I believe it would be in all of our best interests if you two apologize. Because if you two can't come together, then how can we all come together to help Lola?"

Luan sighed turned to face the solo Loud twin. "Lana, I apologize for my actions earlier. I didn't take your feelings into consideration and I should've done so, especially considering with what's going on with Lola."

Lana turned to face her comedienne sister. "Thank you, Luan. And I apologize for overreacting like that and saying those hurtful things to you. I hope you know I didn't mean the stuff that I said. I'm just really worried about Lola." Lana felt her eyes start to tear up and her next response came out a little watery. "I wasn't there for her before and look what's happened." A sniffle and eye rub followed. "What kind of twin sister am I?"

Noticing her younger sister's concern, Luan got up off Lori's bed and walked over to Leni's bed. She sat down at the foot of the bed, turned to Lana, and spread her arms wide. Lana didn't need to be told twice: she ran into Luan's open arms. Both sisters held onto each other tightly as Luan rubbed Lana's back soothingly.

"It's okay, Lana. I'm worried about Lola, too. And I think it's only fair that I also accept some of the blame; I wasn't there for her, either."

In an overlapping fashion, Lynn, Lori, Luna, Lucy, Leni, Lily, Lisa, and Lincoln, respectively, also gave their condolences:

"Me, too."

"And literally me."

"Same here, dude."

"Me, too."

"As I."

"Poo, poo."

"I'm afraid I must concur, as well."

"Especially me."

There was another brief moment of silence before Lincoln spoke up again. "You guys, I know we all know that Lola can be a little . . . aggressive . . . and calculating, if her blackmailing was any indication."

His sisters murmured in agreement.

"But we also have to understand that what we did to her was no better than what she did to us. There's enough blame to go around for everyone."

"Lincoln is right," the four-eyed four-year-old genius agreed. "While my research and hypothesis may be pure speculation, the facts of the matter are that Lola is emotionally overwhelmed right now. And as her siblings, it is our civic duty to be there for her in her time of need. For if we don't do anything soon, there is a very high chance of her having another breakdown. And if that happens, it's possible she may not recover from that one."

"If we all work together, we can show Lola that she deserves a second chance and that we're not just paying her lip service," Lincoln suggested. He then stood up and held out his hand. "Now who's with me?"

One by one, the sisters got up off the beds and placed their own hands over Lincoln's.

"Count me in!" Lori started off.

"1, 2 . . ." Leni followed up. "What comes after two?"

"I'm all in, dude!" replied Luna, making a sign of the horns with her other hand.

"Same here, hands down!" stated Luan with a chuckle.

"Teamwork!" Lynn said with a fist pump.

"It goes against my better judgement to participate in this sort of thing, but I'll do it for Lola," deadpanned Lucy.

"For Lola!" exclaimed Lana excitedly.

Lisa then approached the gathering and placed her own hand on top. "There are some things in life that are more important than science. Family will always be one of them."

The sound of babbling and cooing suddenly redirected the siblings' gazes downward. What they saw was Lily standing on her tiptoes, trying to reach up and put her hand in. They lowered their hands and the youngest of the Loud siblings triumphantly topped off the huddle.

"Poo, poo!"

—

For those of you who have stuck around and waited patiently, I thank you.

If this chapter seemed a little long-winded, I apologize for that. But at the same time, I think Lisa _would_ be the kind of genius to take something simple and turn it into something overly complex.

We are now about to head into the homestretch of this tattler's tale, and I hope you are just as excited about this as I am!

And while the next chapter will require some heavy editing and revising on my part, rest assured: I will have it uploaded soon enough. Thank you for your continued loyalty and patience.

On a final note, the Loud siblings' "hands in" segment was inspired by a scene in Crash5020's crossover fanfic, "The Fairly Loud Halloween."

Reviews, comments and concerns are always welcome! Thanks again for reading and I'll see you at the finale!


	5. Along Came Another Sister

**Author's Note**

Well, here we are! The homestretch!

I know you've all heard this before, but I sincerely apologize for the two month wait. This chapter was, by far, the hardest one to write—even more so than the previous one.

But while it was a long and grueling process, what with all my heavy editing and revising, I was also an interesting learning experience for me. And now I can finally say that I am very proud with the end result. I hope you, my loyal readers, will feel the same afterwards!

Once again, I thank you all for your continued encouragement and sticking with me throughout this incredible journey!

Let's finish this on a high note, shall we?

 _The Loud House_ , including its characters, episodes, and dialogue are the property of Nickelodeon and Chris Savino.

—

Chapter 5: Along Came Another Sister

"Okay, everyone. Huddle up," requested Lincoln, after he and sisters retracted their hands.

"You heard him, girls! It's game time!" said a psyched-up Lynn. They all huddled up, their arms draped around each other's shoulders, like in football.

"All right, here's the plan," Lincoln began. But before he could elaborate any further, three timid knocks were heard. They all turned to face the door.

Lincoln then broke away from the huddle and went over to the door. He opened it and all the siblings saw that it was Lola. She was still without her trademark tiara and necklace. Though her eyes were looking down, her siblings saw they were bloodshot. She sniffled and exhaled a watery breath.

"I really need to talk to you guys," she said sadly.

Surprised by this turn of events, Lincoln glanced back at his other sisters and briefly shrugged his shoulders. _Maybe this won't be so hard, after all_ , he thought as he turned back to his distressed younger sister.

"Sure, Lola. Come on in," he replied warmly and invitingly. He stepped aside to let Lola enter.

She raised her head to look at her brother, but suddenly stopped midway. Her eyes widened and her irises shrank.

"Lola?" Lincoln asked.

"Are you okay?" Lana followed up worriedly.

"C-c-can we actually g-g-go back to m-my room?" she stuttered fearfully. "P-pretty please?"

"Uh, fellow sibling units?" Lisa responded.

Except for Lola, the siblings turned to face Lisa, who was pointing at the dresser. Following the trajectory of her finger, their eyes landed on Lola's pageant portrait. There came a collective gasp from the siblings as they realized to their horror that Lola had caught sight of her framed counterpart. Thinking quickly, Leni stripped the quilt from her bed and tossed it over the picture.

Luan was tempted to make a joke out of the ordeal, but out of respect and concern for Lola, she kept it covered up.

Once the pageant portrait was hidden from view, Lola breathed a big sigh of relief and held her right hand over her heart. She leaned on her side against the doorjamb as she fought to stabilize her rapid breathing and heartbeat.

Her siblings frowned deeply; they couldn't bear to see Lola like this anymore.

Lincoln then knelt down and extended his hand. Lola looked down at her brother's open palm, and then looked at him.

"Do you still want to talk?" he asked softly.

She sniffled again, and slowly nodded her head. "Yes, please," she responded meekly.

She offered up her own hand and Lincoln enclosed it protectively around his own. "Come on."

Hand in hand, the Loud brother and sister walked out of Lori and Leni's room and slowly made the trek back to Lana and Lola's room. The rest of the Loud girls followed soon after.

Luan, however, made a quick detour into her and Luna's room, carrying Lola's portrait in the crook of her arm. She approached the window, unlocked it and pushed it upward. Once that was done, she picked up the portrait and held it at arm's length. Now armed with Lisa's speculation that the figure in this frame had caused nothing but turmoil for Lola, Luan furrowed her eyebrows and hurled the picture out the window.

"See ya! Wouldn't wanna _Frisbee_ ya!" With a follow-up laugh, she slammed the window shut and relocked it. Her task successful, Luan dusted her hands and then left to rejoin her siblings.

There was a light, but audible thunk as the portrait landed in the backyard. Hearing the noise, Charles, the family dog, came out of his doghouse and walked over to the picture. He glanced down at Portrait Lola, who looked back at him with her frozen plastered smile. In response, he growled at the figure in the frame, turned around and lifted his leg.

—

Once all the siblings were back in Lola and Lana's room, they sat down on the floor in a circle next to Lola's bed.

From a bird's-eye view, the circle they had formed looked like a big clock. Each sibling occupied a different numerical spot. The five oldest sisters, from Lori down to Lynn, occupied 1 through 5, respectively. From 7 to 11 sat Lily, Lucy, Lisa, Lana, and Lincoln, in that order. Noticing the empty space next to her, Lily occupied the 6 Spot with one of Lola's stuffed bears.

At the very top of this visual clock sat the pageant princess herself in the 12 Spot, leaning against the bed. She hung her head.

"Lola," began her brother. "We just want you to know that we are not here to judge you. We are here for _you_."

A chorus of agreement was heard from the other sisters. Lola then raised her head and surveyed the circle. All of her siblings were focused intently on her. Warm, inviting smiles graced every one of their faces. The looks in their eyes tried to convey to Lola that she could trust them. And maybe, they hoped it might make her realize that they trusted her in return.

Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect on the young pageant princess—one of Portrait Lola's earlier remarks suddenly crossed her mind again.

 _It's easier to trust a complete stranger than to trust an untrustworthy sibling._

At that moment, that's what she felt like: untrustworthy and unwelcome. The thought made Lola slightly tremble.

Noticing her hesitance, Lincoln put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I can't even say it now," Lola replied sadly. Squeezing her eyes shut, she clenched one of her fists and slammed it against the floor twice in frustration.

"Just take your time, Lola," Lincoln advised reassuringly. "Whenever you're ready."

As Lola unclenched her fist and eyes, she took a couple of shaky breaths before finally beginning.

"I'm so sorry, you guys," Lola began, her voice slightly breaking. "For everything. The bug, the blackmailing, the things I made you do for me. I wanted nothing more than to be included in your group. But I went about it the wrong way. And I hurt each and every one of you because I was so selfish."

The pageant princess sniffled and swiped the back of her hand under her nose.

"I know some of you are thinking, _'Oh, she's just sorry because she got caught'; 'Oh, she's just sorry because the tables got turned'; 'Oh, she's just sorry because she got beaten at her own game.'_ But the truth is . . . I've already lost. Way before this whole thing started. I let my desire to always be in control drive everyone away from me: my friends, my classmates, my pageant competitors . . . and even my own siblings."

She sadly sighed before resuming.

"I tried . . . so hard . . . to put the blame elsewhere; to try and absolve myself of any responsibility or wrongdoing. But the more I thought about it, the more I finally realized . . . I have no one to blame but myself."

Another defeated sigh. "This is all my fault."

There was a brief moment of silence as the siblings let Lola's words sink in.

"No, it's not, Lola," Lincoln answered back. "And you know why?" Lola lifted her head and turned to face her brother.

"Because it's our fault, too," came his response. "We're just as responsible for all this."

In another overlapping sequence, the rest of the sisters voiced their agreement.

"Yeah, right," she stated, obviously unconvinced.

"No, really, Lola," reassured Lincoln. "You didn't drive us away; if anything, we drove _you_ away. We ostracized you."

"What about Lola and an ostrich?" Leni asked.

"Shunned, barred, omitted," defined Lisa to the ditzy blonde.

"Like Lisa listed," the white-haired 11-year-old resumed. "We all gave you the cold shoulder, Lola. And we were wrong to do that."

"No, you weren't," Lola sadly stated. "You guys had every reason to do it."

"Even if we did have every reason," Lori inputted. "It still doesn't change the fact that we hurt you."

"Do you know what dish is best served cold to go with that cold shoulder, Lola?" Luan suddenly asked.

Lola slightly groaned. "I don't know, Luan. Gazpacho? Vichyssoise? What kind of joke is that?" the pageant princess asked morosely.

"The answer is revenge. But this is not a joke, Lola," reassured the comedienne. "For once, I'm being serious." Lana smiled hearing her sister say this. "Because I understand why you did what you did. Our excluding you from the club only served to fuel your belief that you were driving everyone away. And I believe your bugging of our meeting that night was not just a misplaced attempt to be included. It was also revenge for the hurt and injustice you felt we caused you."

Once again, Lola fell silent, mulling over Luan's hypothesis. "How did you know that?" she finally wondered aloud.

"Because it's an ego defense. And a bruised ego is no laughing matter." Upon realizing what she said, Luan was quick to revise her statement. "Okay, I take that back. Sometimes, it is one for me."

The siblings couldn't argue with that. Three specific words came to mind: April Fools' Day.

"It also didn't help that we tried to fight fire with fire," Lisa added. "Because in the end, everyone got burned."

"But how did you guys get burned?" questioned Lola.

"Because after we found out you took the blame for the things we did, we talked it over and realized we should have at least given you a chance to prove yourself," explained Lincoln. Then he smiled approvingly. "And you did, Lola. I meant what I said when I told you you've earned our trust."

The pageant princess shook her head. "No, I haven't. I'm not among those of us who can trust each other. Isn't that what you told me, Lincoln?"

Upon recalling himself saying those words earlier, his smile deflated.

"Among other things, that phrase has been haunting me all night."

Lincoln rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably and turned his gaze away briefly.

"I know I'm not the easiest sister to live with. Nor am I the most pleasant to put up with at times. But I still have feelings."

Tears formed in her eyes and her bottom lip began to quiver.

"And I was so _hurt_ when you guys told me that." She pursed her lips together to try and stop the quivering.

Lincoln exchanged glances with the other Loud girls in the circle. Like him, they, too, had sadness etched in their faces. Lincoln may have said that phrase, but the other sisters knew he had also been speaking on their behalf. So they felt just as guilty, as well.

"Not that I didn't deserve it. But still . . . it made me realize . . . I failed you as a sister. As a _trustworthy_ sister . . . "

She closed her eyes; salt water spilled.

Anticipating that Lola would cry again, Lincoln pulled her toward him and wrapped her in a hug. Another watery shudder came from Lola as she leaned her head against his chest. Like he did in the bathroom earlier during her first breakdown, Lincoln rubbed Lola's back with one hand and stroked her hair with the other. He then rested his chin on her head.

"I should never have said that," Lincoln told her. "I was angry with you—I mean, look, we _all_ were. About the stuff you made us do, the methods you used, the measures you took. But what I said was just uncalled for. I didn't mean to hurt you like that. I'm sorry, Lola."

Different variations of 'We're sorry, too, Lola' arose from the other girls.

"But wait," interjected Leni suddenly. "Didn't you say earlier you were going to try and work on earning our trust, Lola?"

"I wanted to," Lola softly said. "I really did." She wiggled herself out her brother's embrace and leaned back against her bed. "That's why I thought taking the rap for you guys would at least have been a step in the right direction. But now . . . I'm not so sure."

"Is that you or your portrait talking, Lola?" Lucy monotonically queried.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lola asked dejectedly.

"It means that we know about your pageant picture," Luna clarified.

"So what?" Lola said in a defeated tone. "It doesn't matter now."

"If I may interject," requested the four-eyed four-year-old prodigy. "You used the words, _'among other things'_ just now. I hypothesized earlier to the rest of our sibling units that you were hearing voices, Lola, which most likely played a big part in both your breakdowns. And now, this leads me to believe that not only were Lincoln's choice of words haunting you, but also the figure in that portrait. Am I incorrect in anything I've just said?"

 _Of course, she's not. When is she ever?_ Lola thought sarcastically. She shook her head.

"Your framed counterpart was most likely a physical manifestation of the doubts and/or second thoughts you were having about being part of the club."

It was times like this Lola wished her younger sister wasn't such a genius.

"What kind of things did she tell you, if you don't mind us asking?"

On the one hand, Lola was hesitant to divulge that information as she didn't want to relive the torture her framed counterpart had put her through tonight. But on the other hand, if Lisa knew, then it was most likely the rest of her siblings did, too. The cat was out of the bag, so why keep denying it?

Lincoln put his hand back on Lola's shoulder, rubbing it comfortingly. His reminder that they wouldn't judge her ran through her mind again. Her decision made, she took another deep breath.

"She kept saying me being in the club was just going to be short-lived. That I was always going to be untrustworthy, and careless . . . and useless." The last trait she listed was said in a tiny voice.

"She put Mr. Coconuts to shame, saying those things in more voices than one," Lola added as a side note.

It didn't take the other siblings long to realize whose voices Lola might have been hearing from her framed counterpart.

"Lola, you're not useless," Lana replied. "Or careless, for that matter."

"But I am untrustworthy," the pink twin admitted. "She was right about that."

"Do you honestly believe that?"

"Well, _you're_ the trustworthy twin, Lana. Not me."

A look of realization crossed the tomboy twin's face. " _Oh_ , so _that's_ what you said earlier."

"Well, it's true!" Lola exclaimed, spreading her arms out wide. "Look at my history! The things I've said, the stuff I've done . . . " She sighed and dropped her arms to her sides. "Why would you want to trust me now?"

The rest of the siblings smiled.

"Because everyone deserves a second chance, Lola," Lincoln said.

"Precisely," stated Lisa. "Because if you take everything that's happened in the past couple of days and break it all down to its main key components, the end result is that you simply made a mistake."

"And besides, you're not the only one who's messed up before," Luna replied. "Don't you remember when I got carried away when we formed that band for the Family Fun Fair?"

"Or that time I caused you guys to usurp my position as babysitter when I got too power-hungry?" quipped Lori.

"Or the time I recorded you girls' embarrassing moments to win that video contest?" added Lincoln.

"Or how about the time he went on strike to get one of us to trade chores with him?" Lynn added.

"Well, there was _that_ . . ." Lincoln admitted.

"And the time he thought he was all that and a bag of chips after he won that limo ride?" Luan contributed humorously.

"I guess we can't forget that, either, but . . ."

"Or what about the time he blocked the toilet with a Princess Pony comic book?" Leni chipped in.

"Well, actually . . . " Lucy began. But she was cut off by Lincoln.

"Okay, I think Lola's got the point, girls."

"Poo, poo, poo!" Lily proclaimed with a clap of her hands.

"Alright, already!" Lincoln exclaimed annoyingly. "Thank you, _girls._ For your helpful . . . contributions."

"Aw, we're just messing with you, little bro," Lynn answered back.

"But don't you see, Lola? We've all made mistakes."

"But what about _my_ mistakes, Lincoln?" Lola asked, almost pleadingly. "Did you forget about me turning the other girls against you because you bought those sound-cancelling earbuds? Or when I tried to force you to stop reading comics in your undies?"

"No, I haven't forgotten about those, Lola," Lincoln replied calmly. "But those, too, were simply mistakes."

"But, I mean, what about this whole . . . series of events, you know? I've caused you guys so much trouble! You still wouldn't call that untrustworthy?"

Lincoln pondered this question for a moment before answering. "Before tonight . . . I probably _would_ call that untrustworthy." Lola cast her eyes down sadly. "But after this . . . I call it being human."

Upon hearing that, Lola turned to her brother and raised one of her eyebrows confusedly. "What?"

"Lola, that's the beauty of being human. You're supposed to make mistakes. And instead of just beating yourself up over them, you have to learn from them. And that's what you did tonight. You realized the consequences of your actions and you adapted."

"Yeah, Lola!" Lynn responded with a fist pump. "You took one for the team. That makes you a star player in my book!"

"Looks like I'm not the only trustworthy twin around here anymore," Lana proclaimed.

For the first time since this particular meeting started, Lola smiled. She turned to face her other sisters. "Really? You guys mean that?"

"Of course!" replied Lincoln. "We'd have to be idiots not to let you in the club after that act of selflessness."

Still, though, uncertainty plagued the pageant princess' mind and her smile regressed. "But what about tomorrow night? Or the night after that?"

"What do you mean?" deadpanned Lucy.

"I'm Lola Loud."

"And I'm Leni. Nice to meet you, Lola."

"No, I mean, like my framed counterpart said—I'm Lola Loud. I'm a tattle-tale; little Miss Lola Loudmouth. Some part of me still feels like this is all going to be for nothing."

There was a brief moment of silence and contemplation. Until . . .

"Poo, poo!"

All the siblings turned to face Lily, watching her crawl over to Lola, the stuffed bear tucked in the crook of her arm. She then sat down and pushed the bear toward the pageant princess.

Lola looked down at the bear and raised an eyebrow. "What's this?"

Lily responded with a series of babbles, coos, and giggles. Of course, Lola didn't really know what to make of it.

"Hey, that's a great idea, Lilster!" Luan said.

Lola turned to her stand-up sister. "What? What'd she say?"

"She said, 'For the times when you feel the urge to tell on someone, you can always tell Mr. Bear or any of his other stuffed animal friends. And besides, it's not like they'll tell anyone!' " the comedienne translated.

Lola turned back to her infant sister to confirm if that was what she said. Lily nodded.

The other eight Loud siblings voiced their praise at their baby sister's idea as she toddled back to her designated spot.

"Or, you can always come to one of us, if you'd like," suggested Lincoln. "We'll always be here for you."

Lola sniffled and felt her lips curl up into another smile.

 _They really do care; they're doing so much for me. How did I deserve such forgiving siblings?_

As she pondered these thoughts, something else clicked in her mind.

 _If they're willing to go the extra mile for me, then it's only fair that I do the same for them._

"I'd still like to use the next 30 days to further strengthen you guys' trust in me, though," the pageant princess requested. "That is, if you'll let me."

The siblings were touched by the request. "We'd like that, Lola. We'd like that a lot," Lincoln stated with an appreciative smile. The rest of the Loud girls mirrored their brother's smile.

For the second time that night, Lola heard her brother's initiation replay in her head.

 _Hey, Lola, you know, we talked it over and decided . . . you're in! You've earned our trust!_

This time, however, she finally understood her siblings had been telling the truth. With this realization, Lola felt a weight lift off her heart.

Her eyes welled up again. "Thank you, guys," she replied gratefully and tearfully. "You don't know how much I appreciate this."

Lincoln suddenly felt a nudge in his side. He turned to Lana, who gave him two specific items. They were Lola's trademark tiara and her now-fixed necklace. Lincoln smiled at the young tomboy; this was her handiwork, for sure. He then turned back to Lola.

"You're very welcome," Lincoln responded. "After all . . . "

He put the necklace around Lola's neck.

"You're Lola Loud."

Then he placed the tiara on her head.

"And you'll always be our little princess."

"And unlike the doubt your framed counterpart tried to sow into your mind, you can rest assured there is no doubt that you belong here," confirmed Lisa.

"Yeah, don't listen to that Miss Picture," Leni suggested. "She's just a big meanie."

"Leni's right, Lola," chuckled Lori. "What she thinks literally doesn't matter because she's not real."

"But do you know what is real?" Lincoln asked. Lola craned her head up to her brother again. "The love we have for you, the respect we have for you . . . and the trust we have for you." He and Lori placed a reassuring hand on each of her shoulders. "That will always be real."

Lola tried so hard to hold back her tears and emotions, but she just couldn't do it. One look at the smiles on her siblings' faces was all it took to break her resolve.

"Come here," Lincoln told her. He leaned forward and pulled Lola in for another hug. The pageant princess did not resist, wrapping her arms around her brother and crying into his shoulder. Seeing this made the rest of the sisters want to join this tender moment. They all approached Lola and embraced her in a loving group hug.

Surrounded by all this love and acceptance, Lola continued to cry . . . but she was smiling through her tears.

Even though Lola eventually stopped crying, the group hug could've gone on for quite longer . . . had Lori's cellphone not pinged. Like a mackerel to a worm on a hook, the eldest Loud sibling fished her mobile device out of her pocket and looked at the screen.

"It's getting pretty late," Lori realized. "We should probably start getting ready for bed now."

"I think we have time for one more story," Lincoln remarked. He, Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Lucy, Lana, Lisa, and Lily all turned to face Lola.

"How about it, Lola? Would you like to try again?"

With a renewed sense of self, she wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled proudly at her siblings.

"Yes, please."

The Loud siblings all repositioned themselves in the same format as when the very first meeting began. The only difference now was that Lola had taken Lynn's place as storyteller.

Lola's 10 listeners leaned forward: their mouths agape, their curiosities piqued, and their eyes wide with anticipation.

As Lola surveyed her captive audience, something she thought earlier crossed her mind once more.

Previously, she fooled herself into thinking this thought was nothing but an absolute lie.

But that was then; this was now.

And now, she knew this thought was nothing but the absolute truth.

 _My siblings finally trust me._

Beaming with pride and joy, Lola began telling her story.

—

While the young pageant princess spun her incredible yarn, Lincoln turned to face the fourth wall.

"Like I said before, we're not angels. Sometimes, we mess up. But the great thing is, if you need to get something off your chest, you can always trust your siblings."

He paused to briefly glance at Lola. Then he smiled and turned back to the fourth wall.

"All of them."

—

And . . . that's a wrap, everybody!

It wasn't easy, but I couldn't have done it without your support!

Now I'm getting all teary-eyed like Lola. Anybody got any tissues?

I hope you all enjoyed reading my alternate take on this episode of _The Loud House_!

Reviews, comments and concerns are always welcome!

Until we meet again, thank you so much for reading!


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